Billie Eilish says a lot of fans were not impressed when she ditched oversized clothing and started showing more of her figure.
“People hold on to these memories and have an attachment. But it’s very dehumanizing,” the 19-year-old singer told Elle.
In July, a pair of pics Eilish shared on Instagram showing her wearing a corset sparked plenty of positive comments – and a lot of vitriol. “I want old Billie,” read one. Another read: “I liked when you wore clothes.”
Eilish laughs it off. “I lost 100,000 followers, just because of the boobs,” she said. “People are scared of big boobs.”
There was similar criticism in May when Eilish appeared in British Vogue in a variety of corsets. (“Showing your body and showing your skin – or not – should not take any respect away from you," she told the magazine.)
Elle got Madonna to weigh in. “The problem is, we still live in a very sexist world where women are put into categories. You’re either in the virgin category or the whore category," the 63-year-old pop icon said. "Billie started off in a non-sexualized category, not pandering to the masses and not using her sexuality in any way, which is her choice and God bless her for that — after all, she’s been a teenager all this time. Women should be able to portray themselves in any way they want. If Billie were a man, no one would be writing about this."
Elsewhere in the interview for the October issue of Elle, Eilish about her decision to get rid of her neon-coloured hair and go blonde.
“I couldn’t go anywhere with that hair because it was so obviously me,” she explained. Eilish said the new ‘do gave her a sense of freedom.
“I went to a park with a friend, and I was like, ‘No, I can’t take off my hood!’ I was terrified of the paparazzi and these stalkers I’ve had,” she recalled. “But my friend was like, ‘Don’t worry: You’re okay. Nothing’s gonna happen.’ And I took my hood off, and I felt like a new person.”